Practice Management
Ascension’s Via Christi Hospital in Kansas has acquired K+STAT Urgent Care, according to local WIBW News. While Via Christi is managing all assets and operations as of November 1, K+STAT will continue to see patients in the same location under its established brand. Via Christi has 6 hospitals and 75 care sites in the state. K+STAT is a single-site urgent care directed by 8 board certified family physicians, according to the website, and it’s the …
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A 30-year-old woman presents to urgent care with pain in her lower back and pelvis. She denies any injury or accident that might be causing her pain. She has just returned to full-time work after having a baby. An x-ray is ordered. Review the image and consider what your diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described on the following page.
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A 59-year-old male with a past medical history of hypertension presents with dyspnea and pleuritic chest pain in urgent care, and an ECG is obtained. View the ECG captured below and consider what your diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described on the next page.
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A 25-year-old man undergoing chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin, and dexamethasone for acute lymphoblastic leukemia arrives in urgent care because he’s developed a painful, burning palmar eruption. On examination, tender, shiny, erythematous papules and plaques were seen on the palms and fingers as well as the soles of his feet. View the image above and consider what your diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described on the following page.
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Urgent Message: Urethral obstruction can occur due to impacted urinary calculi. This etiology should be considered in patients with known or suspected history of kidney stones who present with urinary retention. Point-of-care ultrasound can be used to evaluate for and confirm this diagnosis in male patients, in whom the phenomenon is most likely. Nicholas Maenza, DO; Jeffrey Darko, MD Citation: Maenza N, Darko J. Urinary Retention Caused by a Urethral Stone Diagnosed with Point-of-Care Ultrasound: …
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Urgent Message: There are no consensus definitions for what defines a “positive” urinalysis in the pediatric population. This secondary analysis of data from a quality improvement project in a network of pediatric urgent care centers used a machine learning approach to determine which variables on urinalysis most strongly predict a subsequently positive urine culture. Kari Flicker, BS; Jessica Parrott, DNP, CPNP-PC, CNE; Tammy Speerhas, DNP, FNP-C; Turaj Vazifedan, DHSc; Theresa Guins, MD; Jeffrey Bobrowitz, MD; …
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Urgent Message: Urgent care centers need documented, consistent, and reportable processes for receiving, tracking, responding to, and collecting payment on subpoenas for patient medical records. Citation: Ayers A. How Should an Urgent Care Handle Requests for Medical Records by Subpoena? J Urgent Care Med. 2024; 19(2): 29-32 Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc, is President of Urgent Care Consultants and is Senior Editor of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine. Medical records are the critical foundation …
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As of September, 2024, there are a total of 14,245 urgent care centers in the United States, according to National Urgent Care Realty data. The charts above break down the footprint of urgent care centers by hospital affiliation, number of locations per operator, ages seen, and setting. From the data: 96% of urgent care centers treat all ages, whereas 4% specialize exclusively on pediatric populations 39% of urgent care centers are affiliated with a hospital …
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In Pennsylvania, the state senate approved legislation to expand its safe haven laws, allowing urgent care (UC) clinics to serve as locations where parents can surrender unharmed newborns. Many states have safe haven laws that include drop off points at hospitals and healthcare facilities, but Pennsylvania would be only the second to name UC clinics specifically. Minnesota is the only other state that specifies “urgent care” rather than just “health facility.” However, in Minnesota, the …
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On the campus of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, a walk-in health clinic operated by Campus Health opened just in time for a new school year. Open 9AM to 4:30PM Monday through Friday, students can access care at the “mini” clinic for mild illness, injury or infection for $30 per visit. Another separate clinic on the campus offers same-day care for more acute concerns, primary care, gynecology, and sports medicine with points of access to …
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